Cricket Tournaments

Virat Kohli

Even as the Bangalore Royal Challengers became the first IPL team to make it to the semi-finals of the Champions League T20, one man would have been mightily relieved. Virat Kohli did not manage to take Bangalore past the finish line against the Mumbai Indians, but did well enough to knock Sachin Tendulkar’s team out and keep his side in the hunt. And against the Lions, he went one step ahead, leading the team to victory, as Bangalore marched their way into the final four.

For Kohli, it was a matter of turning from culprit to hero. He nearly messed things up for Bangalore during their chase of 160, before brining them right back on track.

Kohli first ran out key man Robin Uthappa in the 15th over of the innings, and then failed to make much contact with the ball in the next over. For some inexplicable reason, Bangalore had not gone for the kill from the word go and they seemed in eminent danger of being knocked out. However, this was when Kohli made amends, and in the best way possible. Over 40 were required from the last four overs when Kohli smashed Ethan O’Reilly for two sixes and a four. Bangalore’s chase was back on track with those three big hits as they cantered home.

The win also meant that Kohli had put behind the past and conquered the present. The image of him on his haunches, being consoled by Rahul Dravid, who himself must have been heartbroken having batted through the innings in the defeat, will be looked upon as a poignant moment of this tournament. But with having managed to pull Bangalore out of the hole, and more importantly guide them in to the semi-finals, Kohli would now have some happy memories going into the final four. Also, the close win would mean Bangalore would be better prepared for the bigger challenges ahead, even as the loss of Jacques Kallis would be a major setback.

Another key component in Bangalore’s win was the performance of their skipper Anil Kumble. His magical spell of 1/13 from his four overs meant Lions were restricted to just a respectable total. Bringing all his experience into play, the former Indian skipper did not give any room to the batsmen and ensured they were strangled for runs. Like Kohli, he also was looking for redemption, having dropped Dwayne Bravo in the previous game, which allowed Mumbai to come back into the match, and go on to win it. Here, he was on top of the game with both ball and as skipper.

Kumble’s introduction of Kohli in the bowling attack managed to stem the flow of runs from both ends, following the unlucky run out of Vaughan van Jaarsveld, who slipped while trying to make his ground. As the pressure mounted, Kumble sent back top-scorer Alviro Petersen, who missed a slog sweep.

The two Ks continued to choke Neil McKenzie, who was making a comeback. Even though the former South African opener managed to score at just over a run a ball, it wasn’t enough to help Lions maintain the momentum. In the end, it needed a rollicking Robert Frylinck to take them to a decent score. However, they couldn’t keep down an inspired Bangalore, despite a spirited challenge in the field as well.

Sachin Tendulkar

With the champions league all set to kick off in less than 2 hours, what really do the player’s stand to hold from this?

If you look at it from the outset, their’s nothing to lose as far as the player’s are concerned.
Be it getting to rub shoulder’s with international players, sharing the dressing room with greats like Sachin Tendulkar, exposure to brilliant conditions or the glamour, this promises to be the best opportunity that youngster’s could get to showcase their talent. We spoke about all this in the IPL 2. However, what seems to be the difference here is that the pool of international player’s surpasses that of the Indian player’s which is contrary the case with the IPL.

Let’s look at this in a bit more detail:

Getting to run shoulders with international players: Having played at a domestic the youngster’s are used to a certain way of going about things with the people they know coming from the same culture and background. However, with the ACLT20 coming in, player’s now plan more professionally, there is a certain professionalism in the way they go about their scheme of things. Getting to play their idols and learning from them is an experience that cannot be matched. In all of this it’s the experience of such a thing that matters, it’s this experience that will help bring out the best in them.

Sharing the dressing room: There’s a lot to like about this , as for any cricketer, sharing the dressing room with living legends in Sachin Tendulkar could only do them good. More than a cricketing perspective, there’s a lot more to learn, the intricacies of the game for example. How to prepare for a match, certain routines a player goes through. All of this is beyond an experience for a player.

The conditions: As far as the conditions go, no youngster could have a better experience than playing on brilliant outfield’s, fast-seaming pitches. This especially is a great exposure for Indian youngster’s who don’t seem to fancy themselves with quick bouncy wickets. Something, that certainly prepares them for the test that lies ahead in the future.

Platform: If ever you had to have a youngster establish himself on the international arena, it had to be the ACLT20 for me, even if it means surpassing the IPL. This is largely due to the fact that, the ACLT20 is not just played in one country. Also, the number of foreign nationals is considerably much more than what is to be seen in the IPL or any other domestic league for that matter. All in all, an ideal platform for young guns to knock on the doors of selectors and prove worthy of a place in their respective national side’s.

However, the question we are asking here is different.
Do the youngster’s really need all this at such a young age?

After all the Tendulkar’s, the Lara’s , the Ponting’s weren’t made of all this. In an age where gym-ing and other modes of training seem to have made fast bowler’s weaker, one fears this could do the same to the upcoming youngsters. All fast bowlers did in the past was run in and bowl and bowl their heart out. That was and remains the best form of training once could ask for. However, in this age and in the advent of Twenty 20, things seem to have changed. Another influencing factor is the huge money that these lucrative cash rich leagues offer. It is a debatable issue and it remains to be seen whether in the future generations one will be able to differ between the good and the great or whether the two terms end up to be synonymous with each other.

Only time can tell whether this would really be the case or not. As an advent follower of cricket one wishes otherwise hoping we to witness better quality cricket with time passing.

Starting Sunday, India and Australia will battle it out in what is expected to be yet another engrossing series. While the Tests between the two sides have produced more entertaining cricket in recent times, Australia would not be complaining too much as they have an excellent one-day record in India. They beat India 4-2 during the last one-day series between the two sides, which was held in 2007.

Australia had also clinched the one-day contests in 2003 (tri-series involving New Zealand) and 2001 (bilateral). More importantly, they go into the clash with a huge amount of confidence and good form behind their back. Post losing the prestigious Ashes, they trounced England 6-1 in the one-dayers that followed and defended their Champions Trophy crown without much trouble.

In the process, they also regained the numero uno ranking, which they had lost briefly India, on the other hand, have had a rather torrid run. They suffered a major setback, losing to Pakistan in their Champions Trophy game and were thus knocked out of the major tournament. Earlier in the year, they failed in the T20 World Cup as well, losing in the first round itself. In addition to that, none of the IPL teams, which feature players who will take part in this tournament, made it past the Super 8 stage in the Champions League T20. Of course there were series wins in West Indies and more recently Sri Lanka. However, they were rather hollow and only helped in hiding the deficiencies that existed in the Indian team.

That said, they are dangerous side at home, no matter who the opposition. And Australia are fully well aware of that. The fact that three big names of Indian cricket – Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and paceman Zaheer Khan – have returned from injury will be a major boost to the team. But it would be unfair to expect them to fire straightaway as some amount of rustiness is bound to creep in.
A lot will thus depend on the other big three of the team – Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and the skipper MS Dhoni himself. They will have to fire for India to do well in this tough contest as the bowling remains India’s weakness. As mentioned before, the comeback of Zaheer is a plus and while Ashish Nehra has been good on his return to the international scene, his consistency can only be measured over a longer period of time. Also, Harbhajan Singh needs to do some serious soul-searching to be return to his ‘Turbanator’ ways.

Following some eye-grabbing domestic performances Munaf Patel gets another opportunity to resurrect his international, while Sudeep Tyagi has a deserved chance to show that he is ready for big-time cricket. And with Yusuf Pathan being shown the door, Ravindra Jadeja can stake his claim to being the batting all-rounder in the side. India cannot afford to take too long to find the right combination though.

Conversely, Australia are looking strong in both the departments. After years of struggle, Shane Watson has finally emerged as the all-rounder which the selectors always searched for in him. He has been in sensational form with the bat, and considering his love affair with India courtesy IPL 1, Indian bowlers are likely to get some headaches. And after being out of the game for a reasonable amount of time, Brett Lee has only come back stronger and fitter. With Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Johnson in form and youngsters like Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine and Peter Siddle having already proved their worth, Australia undoubtedly look the better of the two sides and India will have to exploit their potential to the hilt to put it beyond the number one team in the world.